Drone-only: US Army builds $33mn UAV airport in Texas

An airport designed for only two kinds of drones is set to be built in the US State of Texas. At $33 million cost, the project demonstrates America’s unprecedented drive toward the use of unmanned aerial systems.

A 150-acre drone launch and recovery complex, which will be
“fenced and secured,” is to be built only for two drones
– ‘Gray Eagle’ and ‘Shadow’ – at Fort Bliss,
the Defense Systems website reported on Wednesday.

The contract was awarded by the Fort Worth Corps of Engineers to
Oklahoma company SGS LLC.

The airport will include a 50,000-square-foot hangar with
maintenance shops, administrative and storage spaces, as well as
over a mile of runways, aprons and taxiways, according to the
company’s announcement.

The US giant drone, the Gray Eagle, will be provided with a
5,000-foot runway, while the smaller Shadow will have a
1,000-foot takeoff strip. The facilities will also include a
5-ton bridge crane, oil and hazardous waste storage buildings,
organizational vehicle parking and overhead protection.

According to the Army, all operations will take place in
restricted airspace.

“Thus, while one industry analysis and forecasting group
estimates worldwide UAS spending will almost double over the next
10 years to a total of $89 billion, a comparison of DOD funding
plans versus industry predictions indicates DOD will not be the
bulk user within that market,” the US Department of Defense
said. “However, DOD does intend to be the most innovative
use.”

The Gray Eagle, the Army’s largest combat drone, is 8 meters long
and has a wingspan of 17 meters. Its maximum speed is 280kph with
an endurance of 30 hours. That medium altitude system can be used
for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, attack, air
support, detection and destruction of improvised explosive device
(IED), and as a communications hub.

The characteristics of the Shadow drone are the following: length
– 3.4 m, wingspan – 4.3 m, maximum speed – 204kph, and endurance
ranging from six to nine hours. The catapult-launched drone is
used for reconnaissance, surveillance, targeting and battle
damage assessment.

Fort Bliss, the US Army’s second-largest installation with an
area of 4,400km2, is home to the 1st Armored Division. Located in
Texas and New Mexico, it accommodates thousands of military
vehicles, alongside with Apache and Black Hawk helicopters.